UAE Bird Guiding
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As of November 2018 we are struggling with availability of birdguides, the few we have are only available during some weekends (Friday & Saturday).
If you find yourself in Dubai, you can either rent a taxi for a half day or full day from Dubai Taxi, by ordering 24 hours in advance.
In 2019 the taxi rates are AED 900 for 6 hours and AED 1,800 for 12 hours.
Be prepared with instructions to the taxi driver, as few of the birding sites are known to them.
Guiding Rates
General rate is AED 150 pr hour (US $ 40). This includes the guide in a four-wheel drive vehicle.
Half day guiding, 6 hours: AED 800/- (US $ 220)
This is for 1-3 persons, no additional cost if you are one, two or three persons in the car.
Full day guiding, 12 hours: AED 1.600/- (US $ 435)
This is for 1-3 persons, no additional cost if you are one, two or three persons in the car.
Pick-up & drop-off in Dubai is normally at a central location, for example at hotel along Sheik Zayed Road, esp. if you are staying at an obscure hotel, in areas of Dubai with heavy traffic. Your guide will let you know the details.
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To contact a bird guide, see Contact.
Stewart Kirkcaldy
Stewart has been birding for over 30 years.
He worked in various conservation projects in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, UK, in the early 1980’s with the Forestry Commission. As a youth he used to assist with guided walks with the Countryside Ranger Service at a local Loch near his home town in Scotland; and in his early years sigthed an estimated 1,200 species from his travels.
He has also spent time in Kruger National Park in South Africa.
He was in Australia in the Capital Territory in 2015, and has visited various locations across the whole of the United Kingdom.
As a resident of the UAE since 2005, he is familiar with the local birding hotspots.
His UAE list is currently over 200 species since he began recording in 2015.
Stewart is a keen photographer and is currently documenting the avifauna of the UAE and has an in depth knowledge of Canon equipment. He can accommodate up to three plus their equipment in his long wheelbase Mitsubishi Pajero.
Stewart is available on weekends (Fridays and Saturdays) but may be available for a day midweek if enough advance notice is given, he will happily supply eBird checklists for specific areas to assist with clients achieving their wish list goals.
Jacky Judas
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Jacky hails from the north of France, birding since the age of 12.
He says: 'mainly birding in France during my younger years, but then French Austral and Antarctic territories, where I have worked on Albatrosses and Penguins, in French Guiana for my PhD in tropical ecology, in Europe, Africa, central Asia, Madagascar, New Zealand, China, Nepal, Pakistan, and most of Arabia (Saudi Arabia, where I was resident for 5 years, Oman, Yemen) and quite regularly in Thailand, which is my favorite destination.
I have never managed to make a count of my life list, possibly around 3000'.
Jacky has been a resident in the UAE since 2004.
His availability would be mainly during weekends (Fridays and Saturdays), but if required and adviced sufficiently in advance, week days might also be possible to arrange.
Jacky can guide on the East coast, including the following sites: Masafi Wadi, Wamm Farms, Dibba Port, Fujairah Port Beach, Khor Kalba, and the Hajar Mountains more generally.
Hopefully, he might include a visit to Wadi Wurayah in a near future. This is not an easy birding place, but might be interesting for a few species like Hooded Weathear, or Lichstenstein Sandgrouse in the evening, or even trying more for Omani Owl.
Jacky is also well versed in other topics than birds, including dragonflies, butterflies, reptiles, mountain flora, some notes on the geology, and general conservation in the UAE.
Jacky can also extend birding to Al Ain, to sites like Green Mubazzarah, Zakher Lake, Ayn al-Fayda, Jebel Hafit.
Tommy Pedersen​
Tommy lives in Dubai and at times available for half-day guiding (8am to 2pm), sometimes full day when his flight-schedule and busy family life allows for it.
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Not available on weekends (Friday & Saturday); try Stewart for this.
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Tommy was born in Norway in 1963 and now working as a pilot for Emirates Airlines, based in Dubai since February 2002.
He has been birding since 1976, worlwide since 1986.
A member of the Emirates Bird Records Committee, EBRC as well as being the 'UAE Bird Recorder' since 2005. If you ever record a bird in the UAE, he will chase you relentlessly for the details.
Tommy has birded most of Europe and Australia, all over Siberia, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Mexico, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Malaysia, Java, Seychelles, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile and the Galapagos Islands. He lived and worked in the USA and the Democratic Republic of Congo (ex Zaire) in the 1990's.
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This has put his life list at 4,000+ species, the UAE list above 390 species and all records logged in eBird.
Tommy is generally available for half day bird-guiding, rarely full days, with a start and finish point at the golf club in Arabian Ranches.
This area is easy to reach by metered taxi from your hotel, and taxi easily available there at the end of the day. Cost for taxi is approximately AED 60 each way to any destination in central Dubai.
Tommy will know his flying schedule for any given month after the 20th of the preceding month, i.e. if you want to go birding on for example March 18th and 19th, availability will be known only after February 20th.
He can comfortably accommodate three birders in his Nissan Patrol.